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LANCASTER, Ohio — A volunteer firefighter for a rural fire department in Fairfield County was
charged today with aggravated arson in connection with a fire at the Fiesta Tropicana Restaurant in
Lancaster.

Robert N. Steiner, 35, volunteers with the Hocking Township Fire Department in the southern
part of the county, said Lancaster Police Sgt. William C. Tolley.

Steiner is accused of starting a fire in a vent in the men’s room of the restaurant at 1236
N. Memorial Drive on Jan. 5, Tolley said.

The fire was reported at 7:52 p.m. The fire was minor, resulting in a lot of smoke, but it
was a serious matter because customers and employees were inside the restaurant at the time, Tolley
said.

Aggravated arson is a first-degree felony punishable by a maximum sentence of 11 years in
prison.

Steiner pleaded not guilty today in Fairfield County Municipal Court. He is free on $250,000
bond.